I made some shortcakes this morning and adapted the recipe from my 1891 edition of Queen of the Household Cookbook.
2 cups flour
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter {half a stick}
1 tablespoon lard
abt 3/4 cup cold water
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix flour, salt and baking powder. Then cut in butter and lard till mixture has a crumbly texture. Then pour over enough water to make a firm dough. Then flour your surface and roll the dough to about 1/4th an inch thick. Cut into squares and prick with a fork. Bake for 15 - 20 mins or until done. {I am using a toaster oven to bake so you may need to adjust the baking time for a regular oven}
The original recipe would make double the amount of the above recipe. I knew that so I cut the recipe in half. Here is the original recipe.
One quart flour, 1 saltspoon salt, 2 heaping teaspoons baking powder; mix thoroughly; then add 1/4th a pound butter 1/8th pound lard, and enough cold water to make a thick paste. Roll out about 1/4th inch thick, and cut into squares; prick with a fork and bake immediately.
Note: You probably can make this mixture {omitting the water} ahead of time and then freeze. I served over mine with some leftover strawberry mixture we had. My eldest hates strawberries so he dipped his shortcake into maple syrup. This is a good basic shortcake.